Dan invites five of our rad SLUG staffers into the studio to find out what local bands they have been listening to this year in Salt Lake City’s music scene with a Local Music Roundtable on Episode 130 of SLUG Soundwaves.

– Light/Black are a four-piece alternative rock band that formed in April of 2012 and have had our Editor in Chief, Angela Brown swooning ever since. Ethereal vocals and heavy guitar mixed with slow, pounding drums create a humble, spiraling, doom-laden sound that dares to rival the tones of stoner-metal bands from the 90s.

– The Pentagraham Crackers are a group of seasoned Salt Lake music scene veterans and their years of combined experience would explain why they have been able to capture such a wonderful sound with their music. These gentlemen put forth sounds like they are from parallel universe where summer never ends and the beer never dries up and that is exactly the kind of place you could find our Digital Content Coordinator, Cody Kirkland.

– With so many bands and groups popping up, it’s hard to find music that actually comes from the soul. SLUG’s Managing Editor Esther Merono has fallen in love with The Circulars because they have captured a slowly disappearing romanticism in their music. Their songs bring up wells of emotion not only because it is beautiful, but because you can hear these artist’s passion for their music in every strum, lyric and pounding of the drum.

– Cornered By Zombies technical prowess over a guitar and a drum set make them a force to be reckoned with in Salt Lake City’s metal scene. Alexander Ortega, Editorial Assistant at SLUG HQ glorifies this duo because they produce some of the loudest, fastest and technically superb metal in the Valley and they do it without a vocalist or bassist.

– Blissfully surreal, Mideau is a pairing of talented musicians who have used their project as a means to produce some of the most incredible indie-pop that has come out of Utah County. Every nuance and word and its presentation is meticulously planned and because of that dedication their final product is a magic that our very own Office Coordinator, Gavin Sheehan can attest to.

– The Hollering Pines album Long Nights, Short Lives and Spilled Chances is full of lessons and musings on love and the hardships we all face day to day within ourselves and with those we know and love. Our Soundwaves host, Dan Nailen is privy to the raw, untethered emotion that The Hollering Pines possess with their breathtaking interpretation of the Americana genre.

When talking shop over recordings, you sometimes hear of bands “catching lightning in a bottle” with their music. If that analogy rings true, Light/Black didn’t just bottle it, they christened their amps with it. Make no mistake, the way they wrote and structured this album was no accident, nor did they cater to any minor niche group who may not like a certain kind of tone. This is a fucking good, heavy rock album. … read more

On this week’s episode, SLUG writer Amanda Rock sits down with Salt Lake Tribune writer Heather King about Ladies Who Lunch; SLUG writer Alex Cragun chats with the founders of the Salt City Float Spa about their sensory tanks; and SLUG writer Nancy Perkins talks to Hames bernard, founder of the Castle Of Chaos about their haunted attractions. Plus, we preview October’s Localized showcase with music from headliners Dustbloom and Light/Black. In a few weeks, Jeffrey Steadman will return for another Yelp segment talking about the best Halloween-related treats and goodies to find around town, and we’d like to hear what some of your favorites are. Call our automated voicemail line at 858-233-9324 and tell us your thoughts. You may get played on the show! … read more

On this week's episode, SLUG writer Alex Cragun sits down with Problem Daughter before they head to Las Vegas to play Punk Rock Bowling; SLUG writer Steve Goemaat chats with the men behind the skateboarding program Projekt 801; and then our host Dan Nailen and SLUG columnist Mike Brown talk about the wayward season that the Utah Jazz had and their thoughts going into the offseason. Plus, brand new music from doomy rock band Light/Black. Jeffrey Steadman from Yelp will be back in a few episodes to talk about the best new places that have popped up in SLC over the past few months, and we'd like to hear what new places you've been digging! Call our automated voicemail line at 858-233-9324 and tell us your thoughts. You may get played on the show! … read more